Something Special is Brewing at GSK Biopharm

November 20, 2019

Last week GSK Biopharm, the large-scale biomanufacturing half of GSK’s Rockville, MD operation, sponsored BioBuzz at local brewery, True Respite. In addition to celebrating the near-completion of their $139M expansion, they had a clear message to share with the BioHealth Capital Region.  Something special is brewing at GSK!

The event gave BioBuzz’ers a chance to meet and talk with Biopharm employees about their jobs and what it’s like to work for a world leading biotech organization. It was also a chance to learn about the many new jobs they have projected to add next year (see full details below). By the end of the night, the chatter among the crowd was that the GSK Biopharm Division is an exciting place to work if you’re in BioManufacturing.

GSK’s Andrew Buscemi talking to job seekers

“Working at GSK Rockville has been an extremely rewarding experience for me.  The work we do here is very engaging and truly makes a difference in people’s lives,” shared Andrew Buscemi, Supply Chain Logistics Specialist who also helped organize the event. “The opportunity to provide life-changing medicines to people is further enhanced by the people and positive culture here at Rockville.  Site leaders are very purposeful in cultivating a sustainable work-life integration, which is one reason I hope to stay with GSK for a long time to come.”

GSK first came to Maryland after acquiring Human Genome Sciences in 2012. Just a few years later in 2015 they announced they would be establishing a new global center for vaccines research and development (R&D) in Rockville. Since then a major capital investment has been made to grow the Biopharm manufacturing site and increase production capabilities for Benlysta.  Now completed, they are ready to hire the best and brightest to join the GSK team.

Craig Malzahn, Vice President & Site Director, Rockville Biopharm, attended the event to meet and mingle with the attendees – some who may become his future employees.  Here’s what Malzahn shared about Biopharm, and shared how his Supply Chain, Scientific, Engineering and Manufacturing teams work together to bring critical medicines to patients;

“Currently we have about 450 people working at the Rockville Biopharm manufacturing site, and will be looking to grow in 2019 to support previously announced expansion of a new 10K scale production facility. The positions we look to fill will focus on manufacturing and engineering; however, growth is expected in multiple departments and functions. Currently, we have a 2 x 20,000-liter value stream in our Large Scale Manufacturing facility and a 2 x 1,600-liter value stream in our neighboring Small Scale Manufacturing (SSM) facility.  We will bring a 2 x 10,000 L value stream online in the SSM building in 2019, which will increase our production capability by almost 50%. This is part of a $139 million investment by GSK to enable Rockville Biopharm to make and supply key medicines like Benlysta to patients.

The content of our development pipeline will continue to change over time as new compounds progress from discovery to development and from development to the market. Additional products currently in the pipeline include GSK2857916, an anti B-cell maturation agent (BCMA) monoclonal antibody-drug conjugate, indicated for multiple myeloma and Nucala (mepolizumab), indicated for severe eosinophilic asthma.

Supply chain is all about ensuring that our products are delivered with quality and value to the patient or customer. Our talented supply chain management teams ensure we deliver four billion packs of medicines and healthcare products a year.

Science is the bedrock of our success and our scientists are world leaders in their respective fields.

In Engineering, it’s about developing leading-edge, robust and cost-effective manufacturing technologies that make treatments to save lives. Our talented teams include chemical, electrical, mechanical, biopharmaceutical, sterile and automation engineers.

In Manufacturing, our production teams drive daily manufacturing tasks as well as support more in-depth, long term projects both for start-up and product changeover activities from cell culture, to media/buffer preparation, to purification.”

~ Craig Malzahn, Vice President & Site Director, Rockville Biopharm

GSK Biopharm team at BioBuzz Event

“As a Rockville recruitment team lead, I’ll definitely recommend BioBuzz as a partner in our future hiring strategies,” shared Arthur Edge, Biopharmaceutical Technology Manager and co-organizer of the event. “The joint event at True Respite highlighted several opportunities to find qualified talent capable of adding immediate value to GSK’s innovation, performance, and trust objectives.  The ability to speak with potential candidates in-person, to convey the specific skills we’re looking for, and to convey what makes Rockville Biopharm an employer of choice was most appealing.”

Under Malzahn’s leadership and with a highly engaged and loyal team, the newly expanded Biopharm facility has something very special brewing – a culture build for growth.

Below is a list of job categories available at GSK Biopharm.  For those interested in careers at GSK Biopharm, you can fill out the Rockville Recruitment Survey to get on the radar of the recruitment team, or you can always apply directly online at their career center – GSK Careers.

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